


the aesthetics of beauty

by hoeunki



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Drawing, Fluff and Humor, Love at First Sight, M/M, Mentioned YuWin, Romance, artist!kun, dancer!ten, squint for luren
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-17
Updated: 2018-11-17
Packaged: 2019-08-24 22:45:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16649284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hoeunki/pseuds/hoeunki
Summary: when Kun’s required to create something that defines art, he decides to draw a stranger that he finds sleeping on the campus grounds.





	the aesthetics of beauty

**Author's Note:**

> this goes out to the nine people who support the kunten nation!! icb this ship only has 2 pages on this website and half of them aren't even kunten centric smh
> 
> anyway, enjoy!

There were definitely better Sunday nights that Kun could spend drinking with Johnny and Yuta, Sunday nights that didn’t require him getting up at 8:00 am the next morning to attend Philosophy of Art classes. But Kun lacked self-restraint and so he ended up getting wasted again, which promptly caused him to sleep through his alarm the next morning.

Now, Kun considered himself as a relatively decent student. He maintained his streak of B’s without having to put in too much effort, and even took legible notes on occasion. He only ever fell asleep in class twice a week, and had only gotten late to class eight times this semester. Even when he got wasted previously, he would have his reliable roommate, Yukhei, to pull him out of bed.

But on Monday, Yukhei had a free day and had taken the liberty to go to the gym, so he wasn’t there to drag Kun off his butt when his alarm went off at 8:00 am. When he woke up half past twelve and his lecture was over, he didn’t think much of it. After all, he had never skipped class before, so one little blemish on his attendance record was no big deal. Kun decided to spend his day looking for hangover remedies and playing games on his laptop. He even sent an apology email to his professor, passing his absence off as ‘feeling under the weather,’ which technically wasn’t a lie.

On Tuesday, Kun woke up fifteen minutes before his alarm. He took an extra long shower and managed to find a hoodie that didn’t smell like fried chicken and beer. Not that there was anything wrong with smelling like chicken and beer when you went to class, but Yukhei liked to Kun to be a bit more presentable.

“You seem to be in a good mood,” Yukhei commented as Kun watched the water for his instant ramen boil.

“Do I?” Kun responded. He hadn’t even realized that he was humming.

“Yeah,” he answered, rummaging through his closet. “Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. I charged your phone last night after you went to sleep, and it was bombarded with a bunch of messages from Taeyong-hyung.”

Taeyong was Kun’s seat buddy in their Philosophy of Art classes. They had the typical mutual-understanding-because-we-sit-next-to-each-other-in-class relationship. Meaning that they hardly ever texted each other unless it was homework or project related.

Kun set his chopsticks down and went to his phone. He scrolled through the numerous “why’d u skip class today?” and “are u sick?” messages. When he got to the most recent one, his eyes widened. 

_ ‘We have an project due on Thursday btw. Do u remember? Prof told me to pass the message on.’ _

“Yukhei!” he shrieked, causing the younger man to yelp and spill a bit of coffee on the carpet. “What’s the date today?”

Yukhei groaned. Their carpet didn’t really take stains well. “Twenty-third. Why?”

Kun flopped down onto the bed, burying his face into his pillow. “I totally forgot that my art assignment was due Thursday and it’s really important. I could’ve sworn I had another week left.” He thrashed around in a very mature tantrum, flailing his limbs dramatically. Yukhei sighed. 

“I’d love to help you, hyung, but you better get going. Your studio course for Sculpture Practice starts in ten minutes and the Arts Department is halfway across the campus. Plus, you haven’t even eaten breakfast yet.” 

“…Crap.” 

Kun arrived at his class only twelve minutes late, sporting a windswept hairstyle, mismatched socks, and a burnt tongue. Needless to say, the professor was unimpressed. Kun, on the other hand, liked to think of it as part of his ‘Artist’s Vision.’

  
  


Kun flew down the stairs, stumbling for a second before adjusting his sling bag. His professor had kept him back for an excruciatingly long half hour to do make-up work after he got caught dozing off in the back of the class. He switched his phone on and checked his messages.

_ From: Japanese Satan _

_ ‘I’m dragging Sicheng along today. dont feel too third-wheely :P’ _

Kun rolled his eyes. He darted between and around other bodies on their way to their various classes and meetings, careful not to bump into any of them. Leave it to Yuta to bring his boyfriend to one of their traditional  _ best-friends-only _ Tuesday lunches. But Kun forgave him, since he actually liked Sicheng. The kid was cute.

Kun turned the corner, the crowd of students slowly dissipating until it was just him, like the last grain of sand to fall through the neck of the hourglass. He reached a small coffee shop and entered the door. Inside, students were hunched over books, some scribbling frantically and others typing away on their laptops and just looking very academic in general. The scent of freshly brewed coffee was practically infused into the air. In the far corner, two men were sat comfortably in a small nook. One of them, with multiple piercings in his left ear, caught sight of Kun and waved animatedly.

“Over here!” he mouthed, patting the seat next to him. Kun smiled and headed over. The taller boy on the right, with brown hair and a pair of rimmed glasses, lifted his hand slightly to greet him.

“You’re late,” said the boy with the earrings, “but Sicheng’s here so I’m in a good mood.” He hugged Sicheng’s arm and leaned his head on his shoulder, grinning widely. They were an odd pair, those two. 

Kun took his seat next to Yuta and delivered a punch to his arm. “That’s for Monday.”

Yuta yelped, earning a few stares from the other students. He bowed quickly and turned to Kun, glaring. “What the hell did I do on Monday?”

Kun slumped back in his seat, drawing patterns on the seat fabric. “Thanks to you and Johnny, I got wasted Sunday night and ended up oversleeping.”

“Isn’t that a good thing, hyung?” Sicheng quipped, brushing his bangs out of his eyes. “You hate having to go to that class anyway.”

Yuta took a long sip of his coffee, eyeing Kun. “Let me guess. You have some dumb project due soon and you haven’t even started because you procrastinated it again.”

Kun took the cup and drank, scrunching his face at the bitterness of the coffee. “Yeah. And I need your help.”

Luckily, Kun didn’t have anymore classes scheduled for the day, and neither did Sicheng or Yuta. So he decided to take his friends to…

“The  _ library _ ?” Yuta groaned. The three of them stood on the massive steps, staring at the behemoth of a building that towered before them. 

Kun skipped up the concrete, taking two steps at a time. He paused by one of the pillars, turning around to look at them. “Don’t tell me you don’t like to read, Yuta.”

“I’m a music major for a reason, Kun. The only thing I read are notes.”

Sicheng took his hand and led him up the stairs. “It’s a good place to have make-out sessions though,” he said smoothly, winking at his boyfriend. 

Yuta’s head snapped up, and he grinned widely. “On second thought…”

“You’re disgusting,” finished Kun, rolling his eyes.

  
  


It was about half past eight when Kun woke up. He blinked twice, glancing around before he realised he wasn’t in his room. And then he remembered.  _ Right. The library.  _ The trio had situated themselves on the upper floor, where they were less likely to be bothered by chattery study groups and where they in turn would be less likely to bother other academic people with Yuta’s incessant humming and whatnot. He reached up to run his fingers through his hair when his hand knocked something off of his forehead. A light green post-it fluttered to the floor, and Kun bent down to pick it up. 

_ I figured you guys would be here. I convinced Doyoung-hyung to let me bring you guys dinner.  _

_ \- Yukhei _

Yuta rose from his slumber, stretching his arms above his head and yawning loudly. Kun snickered at the reddish imprints of his bracelets on his cheek. Yuta poked Sicheng’s side, and he jolted upright. 

“You’re gonna drool on the book, honey.” Sicheng hurriedly wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and rushed to straighten his lopsided glasses. They both then noticed the takeout boxes on the table. Yuta picked one up and opened it, eyes lighting up. “Did an angel visit us while we were asleep?” 

Kun reached across the book pile and grabbed a pair of wooden chopsticks. “If you mean Yukhei, then yeah.” He split them apart and opened a container, grinning when he saw the chicken. 

The night progressed uneventfully, and Kun felt bad about keeping his best friend and his boyfriend holed up in the library, so he sent them back to their dorms (after he made them clean up the pile of paper planes on the floor). He slumped in his chair and looked down at the blank page of his sketchbook. It was almost mocking him. 

“Maybe I’ll get inspired by doodling…” he muttered, trailing off with a yawn. 

But sadly, the inspiration never came and when Kun opened his eyes again, morning sunlight was peeking in through the windows. A student with a stack of books in his arms passed by. He glanced over at Kun, who was hitting his head on the table repeatedly.

“Yah.” 

Kun raised his head to look at the student, pouting miserably.

Doyoung gestured to the table. “Don’t get blood on that.” He walked away to shelve more books, muttering something about ‘art students’. Kun packed up his reading materials and returned them to their rightful places. He grabbed his bag and fished out his phone as he exited the library. 

_ To: Taeyong _

_ ‘It was nice being your seat-buddy. I wish we had more opportunities to talk, though. See you in the next life. I hope you ace that art project.” _

A couple of moments later, his phone rang. Kun answered without checking the caller ID.

“I’m sorry, Kun is unavailable at the moment. His soul left a few hours ag-“

“Why the hell are you moping, dude?” Taeyong asked. 

Kun kicked at the patch of grass as he walked. “Because this assignment is stupid. College is stupid. I’m stupid.”

He heard Taeyong chuckle. “It’s not that hard, Kun. Just look around you. You can find inspiration anywhere.”

Kun was about to make a snarky comment when he heard the click of his friend hanging up. He glanced around the campus green, watching groups of students rush by, people playing frisbee, others jamming to music. It was much too plain for Kun’s liking. It was the same boring stuff found in the backgrounds of movie scenes. He flipped to the assignment written in his sketchbook and glared at it, as if his staring would bless him with sudden creative motivation. 

‘Explore the concept of aesthetics in art.’  _ What did that even mean?!?  _

He walked around the campus garden, taking a moment in the gazebo to let his eyes wander. It was summer, and the spring flowers had changed into vibrant summer ones. The sky was a bright shade of blue, with minimal clouds floating here and there. It was a beautiful day, Kun decided. But he didn’t feel the desire to draw it. 

It was just as he was heading out of the gardens when he saw him. 

Under the old tree by the pond, there was a student. He was asleep, fingers splayed out on the book that sat on his lap. A half empty coffee cup was positioned to his left, and one of his earphones had fallen from his ear and dangled on his shoulder. The student was well dressed, in a combination of jacket and jeans that Kun could never dream of pulling off but on this guy, it seemed strangely fashionable.

It was a simple picture, yet Kun found himself gravitating towards it. His hand instinctively pulled the sketchbook out of his bag. 

As he got closer, he noticed that the stranger had very nice, clear skin. It caught the rays of the late morning sun, giving his complexion an almost otherworldly glow. Kun leaned forward, strangely fascinated by the little scar that ran down his left cheek.

_ It’s a shame his eyes are closed, _ he thought.  _ They must be beautiful. _

It occurred to him that he was invading the handsome stranger's personal space so he took a few steps back until he was about two meters away. He didn't want the guy to be startled when he woke up, of course. 

Kun settled on the grass and took his pencil out. He started to trace an outline of the tree and the boy's legs, continuously glancing up to make sure he got the posture correct. Figure drawing was always a pain in the ass.

Pretty soon, Kun drowned out the rest of the world, focusing solely on the sleeping student in front of him. His lips had parted slightly, but he somehow didn't look like an idiot. Kun sketched the folded pair of glasses next to his bag, the rips in his jeans, even the piercing on the anti-helix of his ear. He wanted to get every little detail into his drawing. 

By the time he was finished, the afternoon sun had turned golden. He set his drawing down, highly satisfied at the outcome. Kun got up and brushed his pants off, making sure there was no dirt on his butt. He placed his sketchbook on the grass and was filled with the sudden urge to pee.

Sighing, he walked away from the sleeping boy and went into the nearest building to relieve his bladder. As Kun was washing his hands, his phone rang again. 

“Yes, Taeyong?” he answered, holding his phone between his ear and his shoulder as he reached for some paper towels to dry his hands. 

Rock music filtered through the other end of the line. “Just wondering if you got started on your project yet.”

Kun chuckled as he exited the building. “As a matter of fact, I have. Don't worry, I think it's pretty good so far.”

“That's good,” Taeyong responded. “What did you decide to draw?”

“Well, you see-”

Kun choked on his spit. Standing next to his bag was the beautiful student, who was very much awake and flipping through Kun's sketchbook curiously.

His heart dropped to his stomach. 

“Kun? Dude, are you okay?”

The boy looked up and made eye contact with Kun. He considered running, but his feet were frozen in place. 

“I-I'll get back to you later, Taeyong.”

“Wha-”

Kun hung up and slipped his phone into his pocket, approaching the stranger slowly. He was staring down at Kun's drawing of him, running a finger along the lines. As Kun got nearer, he shut the book and held it out for Kun to take. With a hesitant hand, he took the book. The now-bespectacled student put a hand on his hip and gave Kun a good once-over. 

“May I ask why you’re drawing me while I sleep?” he asked. Kun detected a noticeable accent in his voice. 

“I’m not a pervert, I swear!” Kun sputtered. “I mean… this isn’t as inappropriate as it seems.” 

He sighed, knowing that the words spilling out of his mouth were just making it worse. Kun honestly didn’t know what to say at this point.  _ Maybe because you’re incredibly attractive and my stupid brain couldn’t resist drawing you?  _ He sighed in defeat. The other guy had an eyebrow raised, clearly waiting for a proper explanation.

“Okay. To tell you the truth, it’s because I have an art project due and you’re… um… aesthetically pleasing to the eyes.” 

Kun felt the colour rushing to his cheeks as he watched the man blink twice, comprehending what he had just said. He was ready to bolt, just in case the stranger --  _ his muse _ , called the cops on him.

But then the corners of the man's lips twitched and he burst out grinning in a wide smile, revealing a set of perfect white teeth. He began laughing, a loud and somewhat theatrical laugh, covering his mouth with the back of his sleeve.  There was something about the scene that made Kun’s heart skip a beat.

When the man finally calmed down, he started to fan himself with his hand. “Oh my,” he said between giggles as he wiped tears from his eyes, “That is the cutest compliment I’ve ever gotten from someone.”

Kun’s face felt hot, and he simply wanted the ground beneath him to open and swallow him whole. “Um…you’re welcome?” he replied bashfully. Since when did he become so shy in front of strangers?

“Ten. That’s my name.”

_ A beautiful name for a beautiful person. _

Ten packed his stuff up, slung his bag over his shoulder and took a nice, long sip from his coffee. As he passed Kun, he leaned into his ear, flooding his senses with the smell of a caramel macchiato. 

“You should pay me a visit when you get your results back,” he glanced down at the name on Kun’s sketchbook, “Kun.”

Kun felt his blood rush to his ears. Ten winked at him and he strutted off, hips swaying as he went. 

“Just head down to the dance studios and ask around, babe!” Ten hollered over his shoulder.

Kun looked down at his sketchbook and smiled, clutching it to his chest as he skipped back to the dorm like a giddy schoolboy. He had so much to tell Yukhei.

  
  


Kun ended up spending the whole night working on his assignment, redrawing his sketch onto a larger canvas with charcoal. Yukhei's boyfriend Renjun brewed a nice cup of black tea for Kun to help him stay awake as he worked.

In the morning, not having slept a wink, Kun took an ice cold shower and packed up his art piece in a canvas bag. Yukhei advised him to stop by the studios in the afternoon and maybe give Ten an apology gift for using him without permission in an art assignment. Renjun suggested a bouquet of flowers.

“Isn't that a little too… romantic?” Kun worried aloud. “He might think I'm a huge creep.”

Renjun sipped his juice. “You're into him, aren't you? You should go for it, ge.”

“What? I'm not -- he was just seemed like a good subject to draw. That's all.”

“Uh huh,” Renjun said, unconvinced. “Whatever you say~” 

Yukhei chuckled and gave Kun a pat on the back. “Maybe buy him lunch or something. If he's in the studios all day then he must be exhausted.”

It was a solid piece of advice that Kun pondered about as he went to class. Maybe that's why Ten slept for long; dance practice must've tired him out a lot. He handed his assignment in with pride, and spent the rest of class wondering what to get Ten. Maybe a sandwich? He considered going back to the dorm kitchens to make something for him, but he decided against it. He didn’t want to come off too desperate. Taeyong kept glancing over at him throughout the lecture, most likely wondering why he was smiling like an idiot.

As soon as the professor dismissed the class, Kun grabbed his bag and left, bidding a hasty farewell to Taeyong. He dialled Yuta’s number and his best friend picked up on the third ring. 

“Good almost afternoon, my love! I’m out with Johnny right now but you know where to find the spare key to my dorm room in case you need to borrow somethi-”

“Yuta, do you know where to buy good bento boxes?” Kun had no time to waste. Ten might go out for lunch any moment now.

Thankfully, Yuta didn’t bother questioning Kun’s intentions, rattling off some address without much thought. It was only about fifteen minutes from campus, and Kun went on his way. He could probably drop by the florist on his way back too. 

 

 

The Theatre and Dance building was not a place that Kun frequented often. There was something about dancers and theatre kids that intimidated him. He felt out of place as he walked through the hallways, clutching the flowers and bento box tightly in his hands. Music of different genres floated through the air, and Kun could hear two girls rehearsing an opera song. 

He was walking past one of the studios when the door suddenly swung open, narrowly grazing his flowers. Kun yelped and jumped back, checking the purple lilacs for any signs of damage. He was about to scold the person when he realised that it was none other than Sicheng. 

“Kun? What are you doing here?” He looked at the flowers curiously. 

Kun scratched his head, suddenly feeling a bit embarrassed. “Uh, do you perhaps know of a Ten…?”

The name seemed to strike something in Sicheng as the boy smirked, a knowing look dancing in his eyes. Kun knew that there was nothing he could do anymore, as Sicheng would tell Yuta and then that demon would never let him hear the end of it. He’d also be petty and whine about not being the first one to hear the gossip. 

“Down the hall, take a left. Second door on the right.” Sicheng patted his arm. “You’re welcome.”

Kun thanked him and scurried away as fast as he could. He passed by some people in tights and another group wearing fancy ball gowns. He followed Sicheng’s directions and came across one of the smaller dance rooms. 

Kun placed his hand on the doorknob, but stopped when he noticed that there were people inside. A small group of students, all evidently younger, perhaps freshmen or so, stood around a tablet. They all had a glistening sheen of sweat on their foreheads from dancing vigorously. Kun watched, intrigued, as the music started up once more and they danced forcefully, each of their limbs perfectly synchronised as they moved sharply, never missing a beat. Suddenly, the music stopped and Ten was in view, he too sporting a good amount of sweat. He spoke to them for a bit before he clapped his hands together and motioned for them to sit down. 

He was different, Kun noted. He wasn’t the sassy, easy-going guy that he had drawn under the tree. There was a different aura surrounding him this time. Poised. Serious. 

The music began and Kun tapped his feet lightly, surprised when Ten stepped out into the center of the room, facing the mirror by himself. He stretched his arms before repeating the routine although this time, Kun was lost for words. Ten moved with a grace that he didn’t know how to describe, his entire being flowing with a charisma that caught the other students’ total attention. All eyes in the room were fixated in admiration as Ten danced with purpose and finished with a proud smile on his face. Everyone clapped enthusiastically and Kun grinned, giving him a quiet applause of his own. 

He continued watching as Ten checked the time and dismissed the practice. Kun stepped aside as the door opened and they spilled out, chattering and gossiping over things. A few of the female dancers caught sight of Kun standing by the door and they blinked in surprise, exchanging glances and giggles as they walked away from him. Kun stared after them in confusion and blushed as he realised they were probably giggling about the flowers. 

He shrugged and peeked back in the room to see Ten scrolling through his phone. The skinny man picked up a wire and plugged his phone into it, and music was suddenly blaring from the speakers. Ten turned to the mirror and danced for a while longer, popping and spinning and moving his feet like a professional. Kun couldn’t take it any longer.

“You’re amazing,” he said, loudly enough to be heard over the music. Ten whipped around and his eyes went impossibly wide. It took a moment before he dashed over to his phone and shut the music off.

“K-Kun!” he said, fixing his hair and clothes. “How long have you been there?” 

“Long enough to see how talented you are,” he answered honestly. Kun stepped into the room and watched as Ten’s eyes lit up at the bouquet.

“Is this for me?” Ten asked, a faint pink blush on his cheeks. He was even more breathtaking than yesterday. Kun nodded and shyly handed them over.

“I, uh, got you lunch. It’s an apology present.” Kun placed the wrapped bento box on the table and looked down at his feet. “I realised that it probably wasn’t cool to just use you as a subject for my artwork without asking for your permission. You know, consent is really important and I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortab-”

And then was a pair of lips on his own, cutting off the rest of Kun’s apology. 

Kun let out a noise of surprise but before he could even reciprocate, Ten pulled back, his eyes sparkling with joy. 

“You’re adorable.”

Kun flushed all the way down to his toes, a tingling sensation on his lips from where Ten kissed him. His mind could barely form a coherent sentence but Ten merely smiled, reaching for his hand and threading their fingers together. 

“I’ll accept your apology on one condition.”

The answer was obvious. “Sure.”

“Go on a date with me tonight?”

  
  


Needless to say, Kun got an A+ on his project. (He ended up pinning his artwork onto the wall next to his bed, and he looked at it every night before he went to sleep. Yukhei thought it was ridiculous, but Ten insisted it was adorable.)

**Author's Note:**

> we all need a lucas in our lives tbh
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/takadactyl)


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